The world's airlines have called for intergovernmental cooperation to tackle the threat of terrorism, at its recent AGM in Dublin.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which represents the majority of the world's airlines, unanimously adopted a resolution that "denounces terrorism and calls for intensified cooperation among governments as well as with the air transport industry to keep flying secure".

The foundation stone of security has been tested in the last twelve months, as terrorists have laid claim to atrocities involving Metrojet 9268, Daallo 159, and Brussels Airport. All are grim reminders that terrorists do not care who they victimize in trying to achieve their ends—including innocent travellers.

Terrorist objectives are clearly bigger than aviation. Governments face the formidable challenge of protecting the values of free and open societies from people with an agenda of darkness. In that context governments must keep our passengers and employees secure as part of their responsibility for national security. Of course, airlines share the same objective and are working with governments to achieve it.The Brussels attack highlighted the importance of security in airport “landside” areas. This is fully within the remit of government—as is any public space. As an industry we certainly do not advocate the pre-screening procedures imposed in Brussels. Nonetheless, two important IATA initiatives can help mitigate risks with efficient processes that reduce queues and crowds.

The first is Smart Security, where we are working with Airports Council International (ACI). It will streamline security with a risk-based approach and modern technology, with the triple benefit of reduced queues, more effective screening and a better passenger experience.

The second is Fast Travel—our initiative to speed-up passenger processing with self-service technology.

But airport security programs are not the keystone in the battle against terrorism. Government intelligence capabilities play the biggest role in keeping our societies secure and stopping terrorists far away from airports.Airlines help support the risk assessments that governments make by complying with requirements to provide Advance Passenger Information and Passenger Name Record data. We have worked with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and other international agencies on global standards for data collection and transmission. It is paramount that governments implement these standards consistently—or efforts to neutralize terrorism will be weakened by complexity.

At the same time governments should make full use of the data we give them in known traveler programs.Knowing in advance who is approaching their borders creates a window for risk assessment. So it is reasonable to expect expedited processing for the vast majority of travelers who pose no risk at all. And we ask that governments work to align global known traveler programs so that passengers can apply once and be accepted by many.

More broadly, we also ask that governments share the intelligence information that they have more effectively.The MH 17 tragedy brought this to the fore with respect to conflict zones. ICAO established an online portal for governments to share critical information for airline risk assessments. But governments need to improve the quality and quantity of their contributions.

Lastly, protecting cyber security is a growing challenge. Our electronically connected world is vulnerable to hackers bent on causing chaos. We are all vulnerable and there is no guaranteed way to stay a step ahead. That makes real time collaboration and information exchange with governments and across the industry critical.

Make no mistake. We face real threats. Government and industry must be nimble, share information, use global standards and keep a risk-based mindset when developing counter-measures.

Flying is safe and it is secure. But we cannot take that for granted, for even a second.